Misunderstood
by Golden Angel's Tears
Summary: Sasori is the prince of a kingdom where those with kekkei genkai or who are jinchuuriki are killed for being "freaks". Unfortunately some of those people survived and now fight the kingdom for equality. Better than it sounds, SasoDei, full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hi! I am a new writer and this is my first fiction piece. I hope you guys like it! There may be a few mistakes, but my computer is pretty good at catching them so...yeah. I am hoping for someone to beta for me though so if you are interested please contact me. Anyway, this plot bunny hopped into my mind one day, clamped on, and has yet to release me. ALSO if this story is like somebody else's then it was an accident, because I've never really read a story like the one I'm writing now. I accept criticism, flames, and anything else. So don't be afraid to review!

**Summary**: In the kingdom of Suna that is ruled by the Akasuna family, the hierarchy is unstable. The civilians rule above everyone else. Any person who possesses chakra has to become a soldier, anyone with a kekkei genkai that isn't considered too dangerous is of a higher military rank, and anyone who possesses a- what is considered to be- "deformity" or is a jinchuuriki is to be killed the second they're born. Even though they were supposed to be killed, there are some of the "deformed"left. They live together and work against the kingdom in hopes that they might one day be accepted into society. After they decided that they had had enough, Deidara is sent off to kidnap the prince, Sasori, and hold him hostage until the king agrees to create a treaty of peace with them. At first Sasori can't stand Deidara and does everything in his power to escape from him and the rest of the "freaks", but what happens when he starts to find that he doesn't really want to leave.

**Pairings**: Sasori/Deidara, Sasuke/Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka, Kisame/Itachi, Hidan/Kakuzu, Pein/Konan, I've decided that I am not going to pair Orochimaru with anyone but I can't decide whether or not I'm going to pair up Zetsu and Tobi. If you have any other pairing suggestions please leave them in a review and I will be sure to look over them.

**Warnings**: This story will be slash (If most of the pairings didn't tell you) but extremely mild. There will be cute moments, and some kissing. There will also be some violence later on that has to do with the prejudices against the "deformed freaks", but once again it's very mild. You have been warned. If you don't like it then you don't have to read it.

**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to me...in one of a billion alternate dimensions that some scientists seem to think (and I hope) exist. Unfortunately I am not in that alternate dimension currently and therefore it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

**C **h **a **p **t **e **r **1

Sasori stared idly out of one of the castle's highest tower windows. The burning desert sun was at its peak, glowing brightly on all of Suna, and Sasori could see several carriages making their way slowly towards the palace. The carriages, Sasori knew, were filled with royals and nobles from other lands that came to Suna in honor of his seventeenth birthday.

A knock at his bedroom door caused Sasori to lose his train of thought. At the sound of the door opening Sasori turned around and met the gaze of his father, King Akasuna no Jaaku(1).

His father's dark brown eyes looked over him for a moment before he spoke with his deep voice, "Sasori, the ball that we are hosting in honor of your birthday will begin in three hours time, when the sun starts to set. I expect you to be on time and dressed appropriately for this occasion."

At his father's words Sasori's lips twitched up in a small smile, "When am I ever not, father?" his voice was soothing, like the wind, but held the undertone of amusement.

Jaaku smiled and held out one arm, inviting his son to hug him, which Sasori proceeded to do almost instantly. After several moments together Sasori pulled away and Jaaku ruffled his son's hair lightly. "Three hours. Don't forget." was all that he said before leaving, closing the door softly behind him.

Sasori glanced back out of the window just in time to see the carriages start to pass through the front gates that surrounded the entire palace. The guests would soon enter the castle and be given rooms where they would then proceed to bathe, change their clothes, and prepare for the ball.

He sighed silently. Unfortunately some of those guests were princesses that their parents would doll up in the hope that they would catch Sasori's eye. It wasn't that the girls annoyed Sasori, he was actually good friends with several of them, it was just that he wasn't quite interested in the female gender yet. Normally he would have been married last year around the time of his sixteenth birthday, but he had yet to find something appealing about the girl's physiques and therefore refrained from entering a relationship with any of them.

Sasori knew that he would have to marry soon in order to produce an heir to the throne, but his father was healthy and he had decided that he could put it off until he felt more at ease with the idea.

After he was finished with those thoughts Sasori turned to his desk and closed his book on philosophy before entering his dressing room through a wooden door in the wall. Having wood furnishings in Suna was a sign of being rich. The desert's lack of trees meant that all wood had to be specially imported from the other kingdoms.

After entering the small room Sasori spotted a girl sitting on the stool in the corner and beckoned her to come to him with a small wave of his hand.

The girl responded immediately, standing up and walking towards him before bowing low to the ground. "What can I do for you my prince?" his personal servant TenTen asked in an even voice, while keeping her eyes towards the floor.

Sasori observed the two brown buns on top of her head before looking across the room at the wall and replying in the same airy tone he used with his father, "The ball that is being held for me is tonight. I need to be changed into that outfit my mother had prepared for me."

TenTen stood up, her head still bowed towards the floor before quickly saying, "Yes! Yes, I will get that for you right away my prince. Do you need a bath drawn for you?" TenTen's hands, Sasori noticed with very mild amusement, fidgeted behind her back shyly as she said those words.

"No, I bathed early this morning and do not require another one." Sasori stood patiently while TenTen grabbed the formal clothes he was to wear. After she had grabbed them, she stripped Sasori of his clothes, and quickly put his new ones on. When she was finished she ran off to find a mirror so that her prince could see his reflection.

When TenTen came back she was holding a two-foot mirror, which she promptly placed in front of him. Sasori's eyes widened slightly at his reflection. He now had long black pants that were made of a thick but comfortable material that he couldn't identify, a dark blood red tunic that matched the shade of his hair and brought out the crimson sheen in his brown eyes, and a white hooded cloak that fastened at the top and fell to the floor. After turning slightly to get a view of his back Sasori noticed that there was a red scorpion emblazoned on the cloak, which caused his lips to twitch into another small smile.

TenTen stood awkwardly for a moment before asking in a timid voice, "Are you pleased Prince Sasori?"

Without taking his eyes off of his reflection Sasori replied with a quiet yes and then dismissed TenTen for the night before leaving the room and heading out to meet with his father.

***SasoDei***

A guard with brown hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail observed the nobility that entered into the ballroom with cautious eyes. King Jaaku had more guards then necessary posted around the palace, particularly the ballroom. The brown-haired guard turned his head to the right when he sensed the presence of another guard, exposing a long scar he had across his nose to the light.

"Yo, Iruka." The new silver-haired guard said as he walked towards him, his mask and hair making it hard to see his face.

Iruka allowed a small smile to form on his face, "Hello Kakashi." Iruka quickly did a small bow of greeting to his childhood friend Hatake Kakashi before turning back to scan the crowd. The musicians had started playing their lively music and the guests were drinking wine and conversing loudly with one another.

"It's sort of strange that the king ordered so many guards to be on duty in the castle tonight, don't you think Iruka?" Kakashi asked, his eye also scanning the people. "I heard from another guard that it is because the king is afraid of a jinchuuriki attack, or something along those lines." Kakashi finished when it looked like Iruka wasn't going to respond.

The scantily clad belly dancers entered the room in a line, twirling their long skirts and scarves in unison and in harmony with the music. "Yes, well, you can never be to-" Iruka's eyes widened slightly as he saw one of the dancers towards the end of the line. This dancer had long golden hair that fell a few inches below the shoulders, and bright, glittering blue eyes. The dancer was moving in sync with the others, but retained a gracefulness that seemed otherworldly. "-Too careful." Iruka quickly amended, stumbling over his last couple of words.

Kakashi gave him a strange look, "You don't like any of them do you?" he asked before having a cat-like grin spread across his face, "You think they're hot, don't you? Is that it?" Suddenly Kakashi was pouting which, like the smile, was impossible to see because it was under his mask, but Iruka had known Kakashi long enough to know that it was there, "Are you going to leave me for one of them." At this point Kakashi inserted a fake sniffle into his small dramatic speech, "I hear that they're very pretentious you know."

Iruka swung one of his arms over Kakashi's shoulders, "No, I promise you that I won't leave you anytime soon Kakashi…I just have a bad feeling, that's all. It must be because of the high security measures or something like that."

Kakashi suddenly grew serious, "Right, well I have to get back to my post. See you later Iruka." Kakashi waved before jogging out of the doors of the ballroom and into the hall where his post was located.

Iruka sighed before glancing up at the blond-haired dancer one more time.

***SasoDei***

Deidara had been meticulously planning this for weeks. He had managed to watch the dancers to learn their routine in a few days time and kidnap one of them to steal her clothes for the performance.

As he spun sexily through the room of nobility his azure eyes caught onto the chocolate orbs of a guard, a very familiar guard. Deidara held back a frown at that. Iruka had always had a way to make Deidara feel guilty about his actions.

As Deidara arched his arms up gracefully he noticed that all of the ladies in the room were conveniently looking anywhere but at the dancers, and then he noticed that most of the men in the room were watching them intently. Deidara found it disgusting, to be eyed like a piece of meat by a starving dog.

Sweeping his eyes once more across the room Deidara carefully noted where every guard in the room was positioned. He curled up his slender fingers before having his hand mouths, which were concealed behind a silken scarf, release many tiny clay spiders with orders to latch onto the guards and not let go, excluding Iruka of course.

As the spiders left to do his bidding the dancers ceased their movements in the front of the room and all of the music stopped. Deidara along with the other dancers got on their knees and bowed to King Jaaku, his beautiful wife Queen Shizuka(2), and the handsome red-haired prince, Sasori.

Just as the king rose to his feet to make a speech on behalf of his son Deidara whispered the deadly command.

"Katsu!"

***SasoDei***

Jaaku means evil. He seems nice now (I don't want him to be nice! Really!), but in reality he's just like his namesake.

Shizuka means calm, or quiet. It fits what I want for her personality.

**A/N****: **Yay! Deidara was wearing scanty clothing! First chapter complete! Please don't be afraid to offer up other pairings. Also, I know that Sasori's parent's names aren't very creative, but I liked how they sounded so I kept them.

**NEXT TIME: **_How does Deidara know Iruka? How will Sasori react to being kidnapped? All will be revealed in the next chapter!_

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**I am sooooo sorry for the late chapter! After I updated the first one school became absolutely hectic (looks at 11 page marketing paper…then at the 20 page forensic paper… then at the finals). Then I had all summer, but I was gone a lot and had managed to forget about the story. And to make it all even better, by the time I remembered my story I forgot the information on how to get onto my account! Anyway, point is I'm back.

**Pairings**: Sasori/Deidara, Sasuke/Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka, Kisame/Itachi,

Kakuzu/Hidan, Pein/Konan, I've decided that I am not going to pair Orochimaru with anyone but I can't decide whether or not I'm going to pair up Zetsu and Tobi. If you have any other pairing suggestions please leave them in a review and I will be sure to look over them.

**Warnings**: This story will be slash (If most of the pairings didn't tell you) but extremely mild. There will be cute moments, and some kissing. There will also be some violence later on that has to do with the prejudices against the "deformed freaks", but once again it's very mild. You have been warned. If you don't like it then you don't have to read it.

**Thanks****to****my****reviewers:** 66BloodPrincess99, Sasodeifan32, and I Was Sacrificed To Jashin for reviewing my first chapter and inspiring me to write more. SPECIAL THANKS to SweetScarlett97 for answering my question at the end of the first chapter, you're awesome!

**Disclaimer:**I spent my entire summer convincing Masashi Kishimoto to give me the rights to Naruto…I failed.

On with the story!

"_I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good."_

**C**h **a**p **t**e **r**2

Last Chapter:

_Just as the king rose to his feet to make a speech on behalf of his son, Deidara whispered the deadly command._

"_Katsu!"_

(Deidara POV)

Loud explosions rang throughout the entire ballroom. Smoke billowed around the party guests, shrouding their vision with its inky darkness. After the noise from the blast there was an eerie silence that no one dared to break.

As the smoke began to clear, loud gasps began to resonate through the room. Sasori and Shizuka rose to join King Jaaku where he stood and strained to see through the ever-thinning tendrils of smoke. When the smoke had cleared enough for them to see their eyes widened in absolute shock at the sight that lay before them. All across the room, the bodies of a majority of the guards were strewn across the marble floor. The few guards that remained were frozen in shock and couldn't seem to process what had just happened to their comrades.

At that moment King Jaaku managed to gather his bearings, and opened his mouth to issue an order to his remaining guards, when Sasori saw one of the dancers with long blonde hair lunge at him. He tried to jump back in an attempt to get away, but the girl was too fast and she managed to grab his arms.

Before Sasori could even blink, his arms were tied behind his back by the woman's silky scarves and he was unceremoniously shoved down onto his knees before a large silver dagger was placed harshly against his throat.

The King choked on his words and his eyes widened in shock, making him look like a gaping fish, when he saw his son get captured. "W-what is the meaning behind this?" King Jaaku finally managed to stutter out in a voice that seemed to lack its normal strength, "Release my son at once!"

The dancer looked haughtily at the worried Jaaku and the silently crying Shizuka as they stared at Sasori. Sasori could practically feel the smile forming on the woman's thin lips as she answered the King in a decidedly cheery voice, "After all of this effort? No, I don't think I will, un." To say Sasori was shocked when he heard the voice behind him sound distinctly male and not at all feminine would be the understatement of the millennia. He was horrified. This _man_ had managed to sneak in to their home dressed as a dancing _girl_?

The guards that had been stationed elsewhere throughout the palace ran into the room and froze just as their king's eyes narrowed into a menacing glare that would have sent lesser men running in fear of their lives being ended prematurely, "What do you want with my son?" Jaaku's voice was calm now as he observed the blonde male.

Said blonde male just shook his head as a light, airy laugh escaped from his slender throat before he gave his reply, "I want a lot of things, un, the main one being my right to live. I want to be able to go outside without fearing for my life or those of my friends. All I want is to be considered human and to stop having to hide, un!" The blonde's voice had risen by the end of his short speech and his mouth closed with an audible _snap_.

Sasori was confused. Why wouldn't his blonde captor be able to go outside? The only ones who would have to hide would be the- it suddenly clicked in Sasori's head. This man that was holding the knife to his throat, this man who was _touching_ him was nothing more than a… _a__freak_.

It seemed to click for everyone else in the room as well. Frantic whisperings spread like wildfire from one noble to the other as they watched the scene unfold, the guards immediately raised their hands, ready to perform a jutsu the second their prince was out of danger, and the King's face turned to one of absolute disgust.

**oOo SasoDei oOo**

(Iruka POV)

He could not believe what Deidara was doing. He felt slightly betrayed that Deidara hadn't discussed the plan with him before attempting to kidnap the prince.

Iruka's brown eyes closed tightly and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself before opening them again. There was no doubt in his mind that the others had sent Deidara to kidnap Prince Sasori and barter for their freedom. Iruka was shocked, wondering when they had gotten so desperate that they had to resort to kidnapping.

Of course, he had already realized that they probably weren't always as happy-go-lucky as they seemed whenever he came to visit them in the caves that they hid in. He knew that they lived very difficult lives and that they weren't always the nicest or trusting people around, but they were honest and wanted to be accepted by everyone and not only each other.

There was a large group of them that lived in the caves that were hidden just outside of Suna. Most of the group consisted of people with abnormal strength and strange traits or looks, like Hidan's immortality and Kisame's fish-like appearance. Out of the entire group there were two jinchuuriki, Gaara the container of the Shukaku, and Naruto the container of the Kyuubi.

Iruka couldn't help but feel sad whenever he thought about kind, caring, ramen-loving Naruto. It was hard to believe that someone as sweet and childish as Naruto harbored one of the most deadly and destructive creatures in the entire world and was to be killed on sight. Iruka wasn't delusional, oh no, he understood quite perfectly that if Naruto was angered enough he could quite possibly wipe out everyone, but he was smart enough to understand that Naruto was his own person and not the demon that was sleeping dormant inside of him. Iruka knew that Naruto looked up to him much like a mentor or a father after he had taken him in after finding him beaten in an alleyway in Konoha, where he had worked before transferring his allegiances to Suna, and he had to admit, that he thought of Naruto as his own son and student as well.

As Deidara's voice rose towards the king, Iruka's attention snapped back to the present. He raised his hands with the other guard's, ready to perform a half-hearted jutsu if the situation called for it. Beside him Kakashi did the same, his closeness offering Iruka some much-needed comfort.

**oOo SasoDei oOo **

(Deidara POV)

Deidara watched as the king's worried face turned into one of disgust after his little freedom speech, utterly ignoring the guards and the other nobles. He should have seen something like this coming. Deidara's eyes closed briefly before he opened his mouth to speak again, "We are willing to negotiate a peace treaty between us "freaks" and the kingdom, un." His voice was a lot calmer and mellower now that he'd relaxed more. "So, what do you say?"

King Jaaku was quiet for a moment. The entire room was filled with a deafening silence as they all awaited the king's answer to Deidara's question.

Deidara watched as the king licked his dry lips before opening his mouth to reply, an angry glare on his face, "I would never negotiate anything with the likes of you or the rest of you filthy freaks of nature! I made the decree to exterminate your kind to protect the rest of my people! I will not change that even at the risk of my own son!"

He'd expected this kind of response, the others had told him it would probably happen. Oh well, time for plan B. "You have no other heirs, un, and according to the rumors floating around the kingdom, the lovely Queen, Shizuka, can't have any more children." Another smirk graced Deidara's lips and he lifted his free hand above Sasori's head, exposing the mouth on his palm for a second before grabbing Sasori's red hair in a tight grip. "If you don't mind, un, I think I'll borrow him for a while, or at least until you're willing to start working on that treaty, un. I think he makes a great incentive to promote peace between us, un, don't you agree?"

Deidara removed his hand from the prince's soft crimson hair before quickly thrusting it into a camouflaged gray pouch at his hip. The nobles who were closest to him could hear a slight slurping sound as his hand mouths started ingesting and chewing on the clay.

No one knew what he was doing and stood frozen waiting for something to happen. Slowly, and for dramatic effect, Deidara pulled his hand out of the pouch at his side and held out his closed fist for everyone to see. His slim fingers opened and, cradled gently in his palm, was a carefully sculpted little clay bird.

Confusion, like most of the night, ran rampant throughout all of the guests. What was so dangerous about a clay bird the size of a thumb? Their minds changed instantly when, after a few mumbled words from Deidara's mouth, the bird flew off of his hand and grew to the size of a large horse. Before anyone could blink or any of the guards could attack him, Deidara had leapt onto the bird's back with Sasori in tow, and took off into the air.

"Attack, but don't hit my son!" Jaaku yelled at the guards who jerked into action instantly. Various small wind and water-based attacks were shot at the clay bird that easily managed evaded them all while flying higher and higher towards the large, arched, marble ceiling.

Deidara let out another laugh before blowing a large hole into the ceiling and taking off outside, in the open air. Everything they worked so hard to achieve, all of their plans, were now set in motion.

The ballroom was deathly silent as the guests watched the blonde make his miraculous escape with Sasori. Their prince was trapped in the hands of the freaks, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

TBC

**A/N:** Yay, another chapter! This chapter was extremely hard to write. I will never take this long to update this story ever again! I'm planning on sticking this thing through to the bitter end…except it won't be so bitter (Smirk, in parenthesis because my asterisks aren't working). If I don't have a ton of homework then I plan on dishing out at least two chapters a month. Remember that reviews make me want to update faster!

**Next****Time:**So…Sasori's been kidnapped. How will he react to being trapped with all of the other _wonderful_"freaks"? And more importantly, how will they react to having him over?

**Remember to Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**Hi everyone! Last chapter didn't get a lot of reviews, but I got several story alerts and faves so I'm pretty happy! I really would like more reviews though. I don't mind criticism and I really wouldn't mind if you just left a smiley face either XD. Sasori will get to meet the others in this chappie!

**Pairings mentioned in this chapter: Sasuke/Naruto, and Kisame/Itachi**

**Chapter****Warnings:**There will be some slight mentions of abuse, but this chapter is mostly just setting up for things to come.

**Thanks****to****my****Reviewers:**I Was Sacrificed to Jashin, it's kind of sad that only my little sister reviewed my last chapter…was there something wrong with it?

**Disclaimer:**If I ever met with Masashi Kishimoto it would be from within the hands of the security guards after attempting to steal the rights for Naruto. They're not mine!

On with the story!

"_We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end."_

**C**h **a**p **t**e **r****3**

Last Chapter:

_The ballroom was deathly silent as the guests watched the blonde make his miraculous escape with Sasori. Their prince was trapped in the hands of the freaks, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it._

(Sasori POV)

He watched as the palace grew farther away and the audience started to look like hundreds of colorful ants. The massive clay bird ascended into the cloudless baby blue sky, causing the people below to disappear completely.

Sasori finally glanced towards his blonde captor after the palace began to disappear into the distance. The man's hair was shining with an ethereal golden light that descended from the glorious rays of the burning sun. Sasori found it ironic that such radiance and otherworldliness could come from such a despicable and vile person.

A harsh, warm wind suddenly blew at them, nearly knocking Sasori off of the clay monstrosity. He barely managed to catch himself by grabbing the blonde's small arms in a tight grip. Idly Sasori noticed that the blonde's smooth arms were very deceiving, hiding lithe thin muscles under flawless skin. After another breeze nearly blew him off of his perch he leaned into his captor's back to avoid falling off. This was going to be a long journey and Sasori doubted he would get out of it unscathed.

**oOo SasoDei oOo**

(Deidara POV)

Deidara was surprised to suddenly feel a strong, firm grip on his upper arms when a small wind began to blow towards them. He took a moment to revel in the feeling of Prince Sasori's masculine fingers curving around his biceps before he began to navigate through the drafts of air, hoping to avoid an unfortunate incident involving suddenly becoming close friends with the hard ground. He felt when the captive's chest rested on his back and the grip on his arms tightened after they were almost lifted off of their seats once again.

After an hour of absolute silence as they soared through the air, a large rocky cliff could be seen jutting out of the sand. Deidara sighed in relief; he couldn't hold his jutsu for too much longer, it had really began to eat away at his energy. Their ride drifted down towards the ground with the thermals, preparing to land on an inconspicuous ledge.

Upon landing, Deidara leapt off of the bird with Sasori's arm in his grip. The second their feet touched the ground the bird shrank back down to its original size and fell over, lying motionless on the ground.

Deidara hauled Sasori over towards the cave opening, which was cleverly hidden behind a convoluted natural arrangement of rocky walls, and whistled sharply through his teeth, sounding eerily like a hawk, before wandering inside.

Together they walked up a long winding passage that was naturally carved into the stone. Several tiny candles, which gave off a dim orange light and had no scent, were placed in various nooks inside of the walls and lit their path.

After five minutes of walking the path ended abruptly in a large cavern. Light naturally filtered in through several long thin cracks and holes in the ceiling and was reflected around to all of the darkened corners with strategically placed mirrors. The giant room was packed with many people of all shapes and colors, laughing and talking animatedly to each other.

All of the chatter stopped and the room grew so silent you could hear the sand brushing against the mountain when they noticed Deidara and his guest. Suddenly Kisame and Itachi stood up together and came over to greet their guest of honor.

**oOo SasoDei oOo**

(Sasori POV)

After walking down the dark and nearly endless hallway in absolute silence, Sasori had to blink when he entered the cavern and his eyes began to adjust to the bright light. When his vision cleared he was shocked at how many people, no, _freaks_ were all sitting and talking together. There was absolutely no way this many of them could have survived under his father's laws. These _freaks_ had all managed to evade the death penalty.

Several seconds later an extremely tall man with blue, almost scaly skin, dark blue hair, and gills and a shorter, but still really tall man with long black hair held back in a low ponytail, black nails, and onyx colored eyes began walking towards him. The two men stopped only a few feet away from them and quickly ran their eyes over Sasori before turning to Deidara and whispering something to him.

When they had stopped whispering to each other, the one with long black hair turned back to Sasori and opened his thin-lipped mouth before speaking, "Welcome, I am Uchiha Itachi and this is my partner Hoshigaki Kisame."

Sasori froze in fear at hearing the name Uchiha Itachi. Everyone at the palace and in all of the neighboring kingdoms had heard of him. Itachi had been one of the most promising of all of the soldiers in the Uchiha division before he suddenly slaughtered them all remorselessly. No one knew what had triggered a sudden reaction from the soldier prodigy, but it was well known that he was ruthless.

Itachi, who noticed the look Sasori gave him, continued, "We would like to apologize for your sudden kidnapping, and we hope you understand that it could not be helped. You will not be treated like a prisoner if you do not attempt to escape from us and your treatment while you are here will be quite fair, I assure you, so please make yourself comfortable here."

He couldn't stop himself from blinking in surprise at Itachi's words. Itachi seemed to be very well mannered and he definitely didn't seem like the type of person who would be capable of mass murder. For starters, he was very pale and not as built up as most of the shinobi who made up the army were, which of course didn't mean much to the Uchiha clan's division, but it was still hard to picture. Sasori suddenly felt his mouth dry as he analyzed the Uchiha's words before licking his dry lips and opening his mouth to speak for the first time, "What do you mean I will not be your prisoner? You kidnapped me to be your hostage didn't you?"

The blue fish-man suddenly barked out a harsh laugh, throwing his head back and attracting the wandering attention of a few of the others in the room. His laughter only served to annoy Deidara, who glared at him with his one visible eye, the other being hid behind bleach blonde bangs, and amuse Itachi, whose lips curled up slightly around the edges. Sasori didn't know what to think about the man's noisy laugh. He was mostly wondering what it was that he had said that was so funny. The blue-man, Kisame, slowly stopped laughing and opened his white eyes before talking, "Do you want to be treated like a prisoner? We could tie you up you know; maybe toss you around a little. Doesn't make much of a difference to me."

Itachi's almost-smile disappeared instantly and a frown began to mar his elegant features. His dark eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his head to glare at Kisame, "He is not a prisoner he is merely a victim of circumstance and he will be treated as such." Itachi's cold voice left no room for arguing and Kisame instantly backed down with a grumble about not being able to take a joke. Kisame then began to walk away, telling Itachi that he was going to be in the training arena when he wanted to meet up. The Uchiha acknowledged Kisame's words with an almost imperceptible nod of his head before turning back towards Sasori, "I do hope that you can forgive him. Some of the people here aren't the politest, but do not fear, none of them will hurt you. Here we all eat three square meals a day, we take part in daily tasks and work together as a community and you will be expected to help, but only with the menial ones. You will share a room with Deidara so if you have any questions please be sure to ask him."

Sasori was once again shocked into breathlessness. Those freaks- people- he quickly amended, it would be bad for him to think of them as freaks while he was trapped here, were a lot kinder than any of the stories. Most of the stories had consisted of over-exaggerated tales about how they ate children and could turn you into one of them with a bite from their fanged mouths, but those were mostly tales to keep the children in line and prevent anyone from helping them. Still, it was suspicious that they were being so nice, they must have some kind of incentive for treating him like this.

Itachi glanced backwards in the direction that Kisame had left towards earlier at the sound of a loud crash and lots of cursing. The once great Uchiha prodigy sighed, "Hidan and Kisame are sparring again." This was said with almost no emotion and scared Sasori a little, he was beginning to worry that Itachi might be bipolar, "I must go now, Deidara will take care of you." He turned around and left, not even glancing behind him.

Deidara just sighed with an annoyed look on his face before turning towards Sasori, he was about to open his mouth to speak when a sudden burst of cheerful laughter echoed around the main room of the cave, quickly followed by a "You were supposed to signal first, Dobe!"

Sasori watched as Deidara's eyes widened considerably, "Oh dear Kami-sama!" before ducking down just in time for a large orange blur to zoom over his head.

**oOo SasoDei oOo**

(Deidara's POV)

Just as he was about to turn to show Sasori where their room would be, Naruto's familiar laughter echoed into the room. Most of the room's occupants just rolled their eyes, several others looked annoyed, and a majority just laughed softly. Naruto always did this and it wasn't an uncommon sight at all. Deidara could hear Sasuke yelling after Naruto, the sound of their footsteps approaching quickly…too quickly.

"Oh dear Kami-sama!" Deidara yelled, ducking down in an attempt to avoid the incoming orange ball of energy that was Naruto. He barely made it to the floor in time for the spiky blonde-haired idiot to leap over his head and stop near the entrance. Sasuke appeared a few seconds later, barely glancing down at Deidara's collapsed form before walking over to Naruto and hitting him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for, Teme?" Naruto yowled out while clutching his head dramatically, "That hurt!"

Sasuke just huffed before crossing his arms and turning his back on his blonde companion. "You're supposed to signal before entering so that we don't get attacked, Dobe. Besides, you almost crushed Deidara." His coal eyes wandered over to the blonde clay master as he picked himself up off the floor quickly, wiping invisible dust from his clothes. "Is this the prince?" he questioned, not even looking towards Sasori.

Deidara just huffed angrily, "Yes, he is" before turning towards Naruto and yelling, "Watch where you're going, un! You almost hit me!"

Naruto just laughed shyly, a light blush covering his tan cheeks, as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his arms, "Oops! Sorry Deidara-san, I wasn't watching where I was going. I was excited to hear that you would be coming back today so I couldn't help but rush home."

Deidara sighed, pushing back his bangs with his left hand and began to introduce the dynamic duo to Sasori. "The hyperactive blonde one is known as Uzumaki Naruto and the quiet one with the duck-butt who looks like he wants to kill you is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he snorted in anger at Deidara's words, but he didn't bother dignifying them with a response. Naruto just laughed and patted Sasuke on the back happily while ignoring Sasuke's murmured insults of 'dobe' and 'art obsessed maniac'.

The red-haired prince suddenly stepped forward from where he had previously stood, eyes scanning over Naruto, looking for some sort of flaw. His mouth opened and closed before opening again and asking, "What is wrong with you?"

Naruto was absolutely silent and very confused, "Eh? What?"

"You are not…deformed. Do you have a kekkei genkai?"

The light of understanding filled the young blonde's baby blue eyes and he immediately perked up, "Nope! I don't have a kekkei genkai, well not one that I know of anyway. I'm a jinchuuriki. I hold the Kyuubi."

Sasori lurched back in shock at what Naruto just casually revealed to him. Deidara knew what he was feeling, having felt the same thing the first time he had met Naruto, of course, that had been before he had gotten to know the blonde. Now, however, he knew that the blue-eyed scarred boy was one of the kindest people on the planet, if not a little violent.

Naruto just took it all in stride, grabbing Sasuke's hand and kissing his cheek lightly, making the Uchiha blush slightly, before dragging him over to a small red-haired teen sitting alone in the corner.

Deidara just sighed, having the prince live here was going to be difficult.

_(TBC)_

**A/N:** And the chapter's finally over! This is my longest chapter yet! I couldn't decide on a good stopping place (Trust me I had another 2000 or so words planned) and I wanted to update by today! This chapter was actually really easy to write…too easy…it's the apocalypse (runs and hides in my underground anime bunker)! I'm not kidding about the reviews, I have no idea how my writing is if I don't get any feedback so please leave me one.

**Next****Time:** Well Sasori's been introduced to several of the characters and so far they're nothing like he imagined. Will he find out why they're keeping a jinchuuriki with them? And what's Iruka doing here? Next time on _Misunderstood_!

**Remember Peoples R&R! And have a nice day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**OMG (My friend says Obey My Genius…that's not what it means!) I got so many reviews last chapter. I got six; count 'em, six reviews! They made me so happy! This chapter was fairly easy to write and you can thank my nearly nonexistent homework for the quick update! Oh, I forgot to mention that the reason –san and –Sama are only used occasionally is because the character's will only use them when the suffixed person needs to be respected (AKA when Naruto was apologizing). AND I don't count the Sharingan as a kekkei genkai because the Uchiha's were very loyal and therefore were not considered enemies to Jaaku. Anyway, read and enjoy! This chapter is entirely Sasori's POV.

**Pairings****mentioned****in****this****chapter:**Super secret hints at Kakuzu/Hidan, Kisame/Itachi, and Sasuke/Naruto.

**Chapter****warnings:**Sasori gets angsted (I made up a word!) out and there is mention of Orochimaru… he deserves to be used in a warning.

**Thanks****to****my****reviewers:**I Was Sacrificed to Jashin, VioletKitsune15, jisko2ijsko, Seru-Chan, Lazy Gaga, and kale-FTW for reviewing my last chapter! The reviews really inspired me to update this soon!

**Disclaimer:**If I owned Naruto there would be a LOT more yaoi, but since there isn't it must belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

On with the story!

Quote: "_Somehow__our__devils__are__never__quite__what__we__expect__when__we__meet__them__face__to__face.__"_

**C** h **a**p **t**e **r****4**

Last Chapter:

_Naruto just took it all in stride, grabbing Sasuke's hand and kissing his cheek lightly, making the Uchiha blush slightly, before dragging him over to a small red-haired teen sitting alone in the corner._

_Deidara just sighed; having the prince live here was going to be difficult._

(Sasori POV)

He couldn't believe it. The innocent looking blonde in front of him was the most feared beast in all of the kingdoms' histories. The Kyuubi's ferocious attack on the kingdom of Konoha had only been fifteen years ago and the news of its capture and defeat had been celebrated throughout all of the lands. Sasori had always assumed that the child sacrificed to be the container would have been put out of its misery, but no, it was here right in front of his eyes, as alive as ever.

One quick glance showed that Deidara wasn't the least bit shocked or disgusted while being in the presence of that horrid monster. It was incomprehensible how anyone could live happily, or at all, with the jinchuuriki.

Even after all of his princely training and learning how to never back down from his foes he couldn't help but to lurch back and away from the nine-tails container in fear. The blonde's face lost some of its happiness and his blue eyes dulled as he saw Sasori's reaction to learning the truth. His sudden want for comfort caused him to grab at the Uchiha boy's hand and peck him on the cheek with a feathery kiss, eliciting a blush from both of them, before dragging him off to sit by a lone red head with a large gourd strapped to his back in one of the shady corners.

Sasori suddenly found himself being dragged away roughly by an angry Deidara, who was fuming slightly over Naruto's newfound, well-hidden depression. Together they walked down a wide hallway on the opposite side of the entrance to the main cave and passed be many doors, that had been built out of various easy-to-find materials, which must have lead to all of the cave dweller's rooms.

Some of the doors had various symbols painted on them. One of them had a circle with a triangle in it right next to a dollar sign? That was just weird. Another had a crow and a shark. A large orange door had a fan and a fox on it, which Sasori deduced must have been the room that belonged to Naruto and Sasuke. Finally, after taking a sharp right turn, Deidara stopped in front of a door with only one symbol painted on it, an…explosion? The giant red, yellow, and orange painted scribbles swirling out looked eerily similar to a big ball of fire. Sasori desperately hoped that he didn't have to room with a pyromaniac (A/N: Hehehe).

He watched as Deidara quickly opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes widened as he looked passed the blonde who had walked over to a bed and spotted a very large and open room. The walls were obviously stone, but they had been painstakingly smoothed down and reflected rays of light beautifully around the room. There were two beds, both big enough to fit two people, and covered in colorful blankets that melded easily with the style of the room. A worktable rested against the wall in a corner, covered in carved blocks of clay that was ready to be molded. It was truly an artist's room.

So engrossed was he in the design of the room that he didn't notice the blonde's return to his side, well until he was wacked upside the head anyway.

"Ow!" Sasori yelled out in shock, forgetting that he was supposed to be sophisticated, "What was that for?"

Deidara just scowled lightly, "It was for several things actually. One-" he held up a finger dramatically "You weren't listening to me when I was trying to talk to you, and two-" the second finger went up "You hurt his feelings, un!"

It took a moment for the words to process, but he finally understood, "Hurt his feelings? He's a jinchuuriki, a monster, he has no feelings!" The sad look Sasori received for his words made him want to suddenly take them all back. He didn't understand why he felt so ashamed after yelling them out; after all it was the truth.

Never could he have imagined that the voice of his kidnapper could be so soft and sorrowful, "You're just like everyone else, you know. You just assume and you never try to understand, un. You've already seen him as pleasant and kind, un, but the second you hear that he's a jinchuuriki, you cast him aside and degrade him with cruel names, un. It isn't like he chose to be a container for the beast. The King of Konoha made that decision the day Naruto was born."

A cold feeling submerged his heart in icy sorrow that he had never felt before after hearing Deidara's miserable words. His stomach twisted like hundreds of snakes into angry knots. Sasori felt like the cruelest being in the world at that moment and he struggled to hold back a gag as his body tried to vomit away the pain in his stomach. After standing still for several minutes, neither saying a word, Sasori turned and walked over to the unoccupied bed on the right side of the room, assuming it was his, and lay down to go to sleep. He heard the quiet footsteps of Deidara as he walked over to the other bed and the ruffling of cotton covers as he crawled into bed.

After several hours of restlessness caused by an overactive brain, Sasori was finally released from the tight grip of insomnia and put to sleep.

**oOo SasoDei oOo**

(Still Sasori POV)

The light in the room was dim when Sasori finally managed to pry open his tired eyes. As a prince he had always been subjected to early morning wake ups, whether he had slept well or not, to take part in his daily lessons. He groggily blinked away the sleep and burrowed further into the warm cotton covers hoping to…wait! His covers were silk! Sasori bolted up, eyes as wide as saucers, as he looked around him. Spotting the clay worktable and the top of his kidnapper's blonde head jarred his memories and they all came rushing back at once, giving him a giant headache.

He held his head and hissed quietly under his breath in pain as the memories flashed by, first with his crashed birthday before switching to soaring on the back of a massive clay bird, then there was the memory of getting to the cave and meeting all of the freaks _and_the jinchuuriki and suddenly ending with Deidara's cold words.

He _heeded_to get away from here!

Sasori quietly climbed out of the bed. After a quick glance he wondered if he should make it before deciding against it, he'd never made a bed anyway and it looked like it would be difficult. As sneakily as he could, he began tiptoeing silently towards the door, flinching whenever his foot made a sound on the floor. Other than releasing a heavy sigh in his sleep, Deidara didn't stir.

When he made it to the door he carefully reached out and opened it slightly before slipping stealthily through the small space and out into the hall. The second he turned around after closing the door he nearly died from shock. The young Uchiha boy, Sasuke, was standing right behind him with his arms crossed and one of his eyebrows raised in an intimidating way.

Sasori tried to talk before getting over his shock, unable to keep the stammer out of his voice, "W-what are y-you doing here?" He questioned stupidly.

Sasuke's second eyebrow went up to join the first when he heard Sasori's nervous words. He looked from the redhead to the door and back again before answering, "Hn, I happen to live here. What are you doing away from your guard?"

The Uchiha's voice was incredibly cold and intimidating. Sasori involuntarily shuddered when he heard it before berating himself for acting weak and scared in front of the enemy. Sasori cleared his voice before speaking again, "He wasn't awake yet and I had nothing to do. I thought I would look around for a little while. I wasn't aware that I was supposed to be watched at all times.

The freezing glare of ebony eyes, a trait that could only be owned by the Uchiha clan, diminished slightly. "You are aware that we can not let you escape, therefore you must be guarded at all times without exception." He quickly turned as if to walk away before adding more, "Deidara likes to sleep in. If you want you can come and eat breakfast with me. The dobe likes to sleep in so it's always quiet in the mornings." The last part was just an uttered addition that Sasuke didn't mean for the kidnapped prince to hear. Not that he really cared; it was just one of those things that wasn't meant to be heard.

It didn't take long for Sasori to come up with an answer, or rather, his stomach, which began growling noisily as a reminder that he hadn't eaten since the party. A light blush powdered his pale cheeks before he turned his head away from the younger Uchiha brother. "Yes, I would like that very much, thank you."

Sasuke smirked slightly after hearing the stomach growl before stalking off in the direction of their kitchen.

Sasori followed behind him, close on his heels so he wouldn't get lost in the winding tunnels of the cave.

Very soon they reached a large, circular room that was lined with cupboards and had various stations set up for ice jutsu, to be used as refrigeration, and fire jutsu, to be used for cooking. There was a giant table with many chairs in the center of the room for the diners to sit at while they are their meal. Currently, no one else was in the room and him and Sasuke were all alone.

Sasuke then reached into one of the icy, square containers and pulled out four eggs.

"We're having eggs and rice for breakfast." The sudden declaration made it feel like his words were set in stone and Sasori didn't dare refuse. Sasuke wandered over to one of the cooking units, setting the eggs down on the counter, and getting in a stance in preparation for a jutsu.

With several hand motions and a deep breath, Sasuke blew fire from his mouth and onto the heating unit, lighting a tiny flame that he placed a frying pan over. He then began preparing their breakfast.

When he was done and the eggs were served over the rice in a small bowl, Sasuke sat down at the table with Sasori across from him. The silence was only broken by the small sound of chopsticks against dishware and the slight sound of chewing as they ate their meal in silence.

'_Why__did__the__Uchiha__'__s__join__up__with__these__people__'__,_Sasori couldn't help but think to himself, '_And__wasn__'__t__Itachi__the__only__survivor?__I__thought__that__he__murdered__everybody.__' _Sasori didn't notice that he had stopped eating and was openly staring at the young Uchiha boy.

Sasuke, on the other hand, did notice and he wasn't too comfortable being stared at. "What?" He hissed out irritably before setting down his chopsticks calmly. "Why are you staring?"

Sasori, startled out of his thoughts, jerked back in surprise before gathering his nerves to ask his questions. "Why…" he froze momentarily before beginning again, "Why aren't you dead?"

Sasuke looked at him like he had two heads. "Why aren't I dead?" He didn't understand what Sasori was awkwardly trying to get at.

"I thought that Itachi killed everyone." It was blunt and Sasori knew it, but it got the point across so he didn't bother trying to elaborate.

Black eyes widened before narrowing into a dangerous look. "That is none of your business!"

"I was just curious. Our records say that every Uchiha was dead. To find another alive was a big shock to me." To say that Sasori was tactless while talking to Sasuke was an understatement.

Silence once again reigned over the room. Sasuke looked at his own lap sadly as he contemplated telling their temporary prisoner the answer to his oh-so-complicated question. After several minutes of intense thinking and awkward silence his lips parted to speak, "He did it to save me."

Those words were definitely not the ones that Sasori had been expecting.

"He killed them so that they couldn't kill me. He said it wasn't my fault and that they were terrible for thinking that it was."

"Why would people want to kill you?" Sasuke's vague answer only brought more questions.

"When I was younger a man by the name of Orochimaru kidnapped me. He managed to sneak in and drag me out of the Uchiha division camp. He was quite fond of experimenting on people. His greatest interest was in discovering what caused the powerful mutations in people so he tried to give me some of my own."

Sasori was shocked beyond words. What kind of sick person experimented with _those_ genes on young children? Darker thoughts wandered through the back of his head, wondering if the experiments had worked. Well, obviously they had if the Uchiha was living here with the others.

"He was hoping to find a way to gain immortality through experimentation, but first he needed to understand the basics of the genes before he could begin self experimenting. He gave me something we call a cursed seal." Sasuke didn't continue further on the subject of Orochimaru. "I managed to escape and get back to the division, but once the others realized that I now carried the genetics for _freaks_ they tried to kill me. Itachi was the only one who understood that it wasn't my fault, and he killed them. We managed to find some other outcasts and they let us live with them here."

Sympathy and the urge to reach out and hug the young, cursed boy gripped Sasori's heart like an iron glove. There was no way it was his fault and he shouldn't have been blamed. Realization hit him like a boulder; it wasn't Naruto's fault either. Neither of them had a choice to become like they were. Sasori slowly but surely was beginning to lose his acceptance of killing off those born defective to protect others. He understood now that it was those others who needed the protecting.

Neither Sasuke or Sasori knew that Naruto and Itachi were standing outside of the door and had listened to the entire conversation.

**oOo SasoDei oOo**

(Iruka POV)

The chaos that rampaged through the kingdom after the kidnapping gave him the perfect opportunity to sneak away from the palace. After his stealthy maneuvering to escape the city, he had to walk across the freezing desert all night while trying to make it to the cave.

Iruka nearly cried for joy when he saw the outline of the small mountain in the distance and began running towards it. He had visited Naruto and the others enough times in the past to know where the entrance was hidden, so after making his hawk noise and waiting a moment he entered.

Quickly jogging down the long tunnels, Iruka was making great time. Normally it took a while to thoroughly navigate through the cave, but he knew it like the back of his hand. Naruto had made sure of it.

His current priority though, was finding out if the Prince had arrived safely and to make sure he was being treated nicely. Iruka doubted that they would do anything to harm him, but there were those few who were just naturally angry, unstable, and lusted for blood that Iruka was sure could snap at any moment if they weren't carefully watched.

As he entered the main room he saw only a few of the inhabitants milling around. It was still really early and not everyone was awake yet. He waved and smiled to Hidan, who was heading towards the training room, and Kisame, who waved and smiled back.

Iruka knew that Prince Sasori was an early riser after years of working for him and decided to check the kitchen. He noticed that Naruto and Itachi were frowning slightly outside of the door and began to grow worried. As carefully as he could he pushed passed them and into the kitchen, the door hitting the stone wall with a light _thud_.

The redheaded Prince's eyes snapped up towards the sudden intruder, widening in shock before he opened his mouth and gasped out his name, "Iruka?"

(TBC)

**A/N:** I have reached 10,000 words! (Dances for joy) This is the longest chapter yet! It's eight pages! Man, I'm falling in love with this story! I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Deidara: You're the author, un, you know what happens next!

Me: That's right, I am (doesn't get it)!

Deidara: * stares blankly * (Oh my gosh the asterisks are working! It's a miracle!)

Anyway, the updating was delayed slightly due to sudden essays, presentations, and tests, so sorry about that, but school comes first. I also must apologize for the filler chapter, I'm sort of rethinking the plot a little so I needed something to update while I brainstormed. I was much happier with the review replies/threats to update! The feedback really encourages me to keep on writing and any criticism will help me fix any issues that are in the story, so remember to review!

**Next****Time:** Iruka, what's going on? And how will Deidara react to being ditched? What's with the raccoon-like redhead who's staring at Sasori? All will be revealed in the next installment of _Misunderstood_!

**Remember Peoples R&R. And don't forget to have a great day!**


End file.
